We had approximately 225-250 folks in attendance including good representations from Willamsburg, the Lafollette area and possibly Knoxville although I did not get an opportunity to confirm that. Additionally there was at least one former Jellico resident in the audience from Kingsport and another from Chattanooga. In all probability, only a very chilling rain prevented an overflow crowd for the Jellico High auditorium/theatre with its 300 seats. But the large crowd that braved the distance and weather to be there certainly enjoyed a wonderful experience.

My sincere thanks to Roy Price, Tourism Director Jake Bennett, Councilman and Tourism Commission Chairman Alvin Evans, the Tennessee State Arts Council, Councilman John Davenport and the Town and Country Bank, Jill Boles, Christey Dobson, Mary Jarboe, Marion Ivey, the Jellico High student usherettes, and everyone who helped to provide us with a night that will not be forgotten in Jellico for a long, long time by those who were present. As one lady remarked to me later, it certainly was an evening to be remembered! Arnold, her accompanist and the Barter Theatre personnel were equally complimentary of our people and facilities.

(There was one negative! When Arnold reached the finale, I could not restrain myself any longer so I joined in singing "Ciribiribin" along with her. Thankfully the music and her great voice drowned me out to all but those sitting around me and Jenny. And Jake says that so far, none of them have demanded a refund of their admission.)

I have had a lot of folks to tell me how much the recently completed repaving has improved driving conditions on the affected streets and roads. I again want to thank the City Council for allocating the funds for the work and Councilman Evans for staying on top of the project. And as I have reported several times in the past, we will again establish priorities this spring for future repaving with the goal in mind of having our town and our streets and roads in the best condition possible within the next three years- and before we leave office upon the completion of our terms.

I recently reported an inspection of our volunteer fire department that went very well and that we anticipated our overall rating to be improved with a possible reduction in our future rates for fire insurance coverage. We were favorably cited for the addition of safety and mission essential equipment as well as for the increased training and participation in that training.

And Fire Chief John Perkins has just been officially informed that our rating has indeed been improved. I want to congratulate Public Safety Commissioner Jim Dobson, Chief Perkins and all of the members of our volunteer fire department for that outstanding achievement. And let's hope that the carriers of our fire insurance will now reduce rates to correspond to that improved rating.

It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is already upon us and I want to again remind everyone of our Christmas lighting program next Wednesday, November 26th in Veterans Park (just after the onset of darkness). As has become a tradition, we will flip the switch on the pre-Thanksgiving evening for our Christmas tree and decorations in Veterans Park - as well as those located throughout town - that will officially begin the holiday season in Jellico.

And it's only three weeks until our annual Christmas parade (Sunday, December 14th ) and as I announced earlier, our Grand Marshal this year will be Robin Wilhoit of Channel 10 television. From all accounts, she is one of the most watched local television personalities and I understand that she is enthusiastic about being with us for the parade. The parade has grown larger each passing year and we hope that it continues to grow each Christmas season. Tourism Director Jake Bennett has entry blanks available at the Tourism Office in the Tramell Building and can be reached at 784-3275. Pre-registration will help determine the places of the units in the order of march although some units will have to be placed according to type and theme to add variety to the parade. But any late and unregistered units will definitely be placed in the parade although they may be located further back in the line. But every single entry is welcome and invited to participate in the parade that has become so popular - in Jellico and throughout our entire area.

As I wrote in my last article, lining up for the parade and assembling the line of march should be "easier" this year. (Although it will certainly not be easy!) The work has either been completed - or is expected to be completed - by the parade date that will allow for a continuous line forming from Hardees/Buddy's Barbeque all the way around High School Loop to the Rocky Top Arbys/Crouches Creek Baptist Church. And the parking areas in both the front and rear of the school can now be utilized for units to join in the march. Additionally it should make the dropping off of folks riding on the units much less confusing. Tourism Commission Chairman Evans and Tourism Director Bennett are working on plans for traffic patterns, lining up procedures, etc. and they will get those plans out shortly.

My comments in the last article concerning the possible future rebirth of "Christmas In The Park" at Indian Mountain State Park sure struck a responsive chord. I don't know how many folks expressed the hope that Jerome Cummins and the staff at the park can revive that Christmas activity that was so very, very popular for three years. (I recall the opening night of our third year when the traffic backed all the way out of the park and down Dairy Avenue to the baseball field - not counting Florence Avenue and South Main Street - and continued that way for almost three solid hours. I have never seen anything quite like it and the counters placed by the Tennessee Park Service verified that our traffic was certainly far, far greater than they had ever anticipated. In fact it drew so much attention from the state offices that we had a representative to come from the state regional office to observe what was taking place. He brought his family and his daughter even ended up singing carols for the audience that gathered at one of the park pavilions.)

I guess the greatest compliment for the event was related to me by one of our local ministers who stated that he had planned a trip to Gatlinburg for the senior citizens in his church to see the Christmas lights. However he was overruled by those parishioners who almost unanimously insisted upon driving through our Christmas In the Park instead.

After I wrote those comments last week, a few seemed to have gotten the idea that I will once again be the organizer in getting it restarted, but I certainly did not intend to give that impression at all. I did offer to help with the project and to be of service where possible based upon all of the experience I gained during those three years. But I was younger then and with much more available time to spend overseeing the work and getting everything in place.

But it is a project that is well worth the effort and I still have folks to tell me that they have traveled to several such activities but that ours was far and away the most beautiful that they have ever seen. And the park had visitors to come from as far away as Chattanooga to camp among those thousands of gorgeous Christmas lights and decorations. (The Jellico Utilities Department crews reported that they placed as many as 3,000 to 3,500 lights on each of the extremely large Sycamore trees. And over thirty-five of all sizes were decorated in addition to the buildings, bridge, etc.. But what really sat the entire thing off were the "artificially" prepared Christmas trees, the manger scenes, the caroling by local churches and individuals in the pavilions, the floating lighted church, the blue lights that were placed to outline the water's edge, the lighted Disney characters, etc..) Seeing all of those lights sometimes glistening with frost or ice and everything reflecting in the lake, presented a scene almost to beautiful to describe. Every opening night before we closed and turned the lights off, I drove to one of our area's highest hills and just sat for a few minutes and looked down upon that scene that could be seen for miles along Interstate-75. It truly gave me and everyone involved a tremendous feeling of accomplishment.

And on the subject of Christmases past: Three or four years ago I asked that every business and residence make special effort to decorate - and especially in our downtown. The response was overwhelming. Folks drove through town at night just to look at the lights and decorations.

And I hope that folks will get involved again this holiday season. The beauty of the decorations gives us something to be enjoyed. And the participation itself helps to build community spirit.

It would be great to have judging of the Christmas decorations just as we did for the displays prepared for the Fall Fest. There is such a wide area involved that any judging would have to be limited to only business places as it was for the Fest since some residences might be missed by judges from out of town and unfamiliar with our area. But if it could be worked out, it would be good to have competition among our business places and plaques presented as was done for the Fall Fest. The interest and participation shown in that competition was really something to see.

But right now its thanksgiving time and on Thursday, November 27th we will observe a day officially sat aside for that purpose- although we have so much to constantly be thankful for in this country. The first colonists who came to our shores in the early 1600's immediately upon their arrival began having "harvest fests" of one to three days to give thanks to God and to enjoy the fruits of the harvest. But every church and/or colonial government usually established their own dates for the special day(s) - often the first Thursday in November.

In 1789 our first President, George Washington, called for November 26th as a day for special thanksgiving observances. That custom continued off and on until 1863 when, with the Civil War raging, President Abraham Lincoln declared that the last Thursday of November would forevermore be the official day for the observance. It remained on the last Thursday until 1941 when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt changed it to the fourth Thursday- which I assume was to insure that we would not have a shortened holiday season in any one year..

I read a statement from some kids the other day that had a drug problem. They have been drug to church on Sunday morning, drug out of bed every weekday morning to go to school, drug by the ears when they were disrespectful to adults and teachers, and drug to the woodshed for disobeying parents. (You know, it's surprising how many of us have had such a drug problem!)

Due to this being Thanksgiving weekend, I will not publish an article next week!